Yuja Wang and "The Craft of Piano"

Piano teaching and pedagogy 3 posts Started 15 Mar 2018

Sheana2002

8 years ago

Original post

I was wondering as I am a fan of Yuja Wang(her technique is amazing, yet she can play very lyrically, not just Flight of the Bumblebee in octaves).....her finger movements remind me of my early lessons, where I had to lift them while practicing Hanon. Of course, I found this disastrous to musical expression and it took years to overcome tension in my playing(still need work). Can you tell me what you observe in her technique as it relates to the principles in "The Craft of Piano"? Here is the link

Sheana2002

8 years ago

Sorry, I didn't post the link properly....however if you just go to Youtube and search for Mendelssohn Piano Concerto #1 in G Minor. Particularly in the 3rd movement you can really observe the way she articulates so cleanly. For some reason, close ups of her playing seem to me to demonstrate incredible finger independence. She also requires almost no preparation to begin her performances, almost a machine-like perfection, yet such beauty.

Alanfraserpiano

8 years ago

I talk about lifting the fingers in the last chapter of my DVD. Done well, it primes the entire hand elastically, increasing agility and power. The trick is to avoid dropping the MCP joint as you lift the tip. Dropping that joint empties the hand out and "de-elastifies" it.

AFF

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